Physical activity profile of hypertensive adults living in rural South Africa.
Kganetso Sekome, Hellen Myezwa, F Xavier Gómez-Olivé and 2 others
PMID 40357310WHAT IT FOUND
Rural adults with hypertension met aerobic guidelines through work and transport, not leisure.
Men reported more vigorous work activity, while women reported more moderate housework. Non-working participants sat longer on weekdays. Leisure activity was near zero for all.
Key findings
01Participants reported a median total weekly physical activity duration of 330 minutes, meeting the 150-minute WHO guideline, but this was driven by work and transport rather than leisure.
02Men reported significantly more vigorous work-related activity (median 240 min/day) than women (median 120 min/day), while women reported more days of moderate housework.
03Non-working participants reported sitting for a median of 180 minutes per weekday, significantly longer than working participants (120 minutes).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Data were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic, when movement restrictions were in place, which may have artificially lowered reported activity levels, particularly in transport and social domains. Physical activity was self-reported, which is subject to recall bias and inaccuracies compared to objective measures. The study did not collect data on specific job types or socio-economic status, limiting the ability to determine why men reported more vigorous work activity. Participants were recruited from a single rural sub-district, so findings may not apply to other rural or urban settings.
Declared interests
The research was supported by the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA), funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Sida.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that meeting the 150-minute aerobic guideline equates to healthy lifestyle habits. These patients achieved this through unavoidable work and transport, while leisure activity was near zero. Recommending general 'more exercise' ignores the fact that their discretionary time is already minimal or sedentary.